Malloy Defends State's New Gun Bill At Forum

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy speaks Thursday evening at a community forum in Bristol…

May 17, 2013|By DON STACOM, dstacom@courant.com, The Hartford Courant

BRISTOL — — At a sparsely attended community forum Thursday night, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy fended off jabs from gun rights advocates, repeated his promise not to raise taxes next year and proclaimed that Connecticut's economy is getting on the right track.

The governor acknowledged that part of the audience wouldn't agree with him on many issues, and emphasized that he wouldn't back off those positions simply to win political favor.

"People will make their judgments about whether I had good policies or bad policies, but let me tell you — I sleep at night," Malloy told one questioner.

About 60 people showed up at the Greene-Hills School auditorium for the latest in Malloy's series of town hall-style community forums. Most applauded him, though one contingent clapped loudest when a member of the audience said the state should spend more to crack down on criminals and abandon plans to step up gun registration record-keeping.

As at a previous forum in New Britain, the toughest questions came from gun rights advocates who are angry about legislation to ban high-capacity magazines. One man Thursday night complained that the weapon he keeps to defend his family requires a 13-round magazine — above the 10-round threshold in the bill Malloy signed into law. The man said the law allows any magazine he would have bought before, but now he has to register it with the state — a requirement that he objects to.

"You have a decision to make under the law," Malloy said. "We decided to grandfather magazines in excess of 10. You're making a big deal of a list, but you're on a [registration] list already."

After one speaker suggested that new gun registration ultimately will lead to confiscation, Malloy said there's no such plan in the works. He also said Connecticut residents are with him on the issue.

"Overwhelmingly, people do not want large-capacity magazines in Connecticut. People want universal background checks," Malloy said.

He also rejected the argument that new restrictions on gun manufacturing will drive out businesses — including Bristol-based PTR Industries, a company that has declared it will leave the state.

"If they leave, it's because they want to leave. They have a decision to make — are they loyal to their employees who helped them build that company in this place?" Malloy said.

With tempers over the gun issue raised since the Newtown tragedy and ensuing legislative battles, a larger-than-usual contingent of state troopers and city police stood by at the forum. But the discussion remained cordial throughout the evening.

Malloy told questioners that he is committed "absolutely" not to raising taxes in the new budget, and said Connecticut is in much better financial shape than when he took office in 2011.

"When I became governor, my predecessors presented me with a budget that was 17 percent out of balance – with the largest per-capita deficit of all 50 states," he said. "They'd spent every dollar in the rainy day fund; they spent every stimulus dollar they possibly could."

Malloy said his administration has gotten the state's budget in line, and is attracting business despite a lingering national recession.